Grain-car door



No. 749,630. PATENTED JANQ5, 1904.

M. MEEHAN. GRAIN GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1903.

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"PATENTED JAN. 5, 1904.

M. MEBHAN;

GRAIN GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. ,7. 1903.

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flex-1223's V UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GRAIN-CAR noon.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,630, dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed February 7, 1903I Serial No. 142,397. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL MEEHAN, a

citizen of theUnited States, residing at Tonica,

in the county of Lasalle and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Grain-Oar Door, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to car-doors, and more particularly to those auxiliary inner doors used upon cars in which grain and the like are shipped; and it consists in the features here inafter described, and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of a car provided with one embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, but with the door-sections in their raised position. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively perspective views of a portion of a guide and of a hinge. All sections are taken in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the figures of the drawings.

The numeral 10 designates a car of any or di'nary construction, of which the portion surrounding the door-frame ll onlyis illustrated. At the sides of this frame, extending vertically along the door-posts, are provided independent frames or guides G Gfor my improved door, preferably formed of angle-iron andconsisting, more essentially, of a portion 12, which may be secured to the door-post by screws 13, a stop portion 14 projecting at right angles therefrom and against whichthe door will bear during its vertical movement, and a locking-guide 15, extending outward in a plane parallel to the portion 12. Coacting with the guides is the door D, here shown as formed in three horizontal sections (designated as 16 17 18) constructed in any convenient manner. The lower section 18 is preferably provided with a small swinging panel or door 19, through which grain may be withdrawn or unloading devices inserted. Each door has at the upper corner of its outside a hinge and locking, device, here shown as comprising a strap 20, through which it is secured to the section by screws or bolts 21, from which strap projects a perforated lug 22, receiving a cylindrical extension 23 of a hook 24, retained on the lug, while allowed to turn freely. The hook extends over the tions forming the door, here shown as three,

in the upper of which the hook of the upper section may rest. When it is desired to open the door, this upper section 16 is swung in'- ward about its hinges, first withdrawing some of the contents of the car, if necessary,

I portion 15 of the guide, thus holding the door through the small door 19 to permit its move- 1 ment. When it reaches a substantially horizontal position, it is supported by a hanger H, here shown as formed with a vertical portion 26, pivoted at 27 at or near the roof of the car, a horizontal portion 28, which may be swung under the door-section to support it, and an upward projection 29, adapted to engage a depression 30in the section. It will be seen that as the section is raised to the above-described position its upper edge contacts with the stop portion 14 of each guide, and the parts are so proportioned that this contact draws in and seats the hooks firmly within the guide-notches, rendering Vertical movement impossible until the door is swung down and these contact portions separated. The upper section having been raised as just described, the next section 17 may he slid along the guides until its hooks engage the second pair of notches, when it may be similarly swung up and secured by a hanger H, formed in the same manner as the hanger H, but preferably pivoted to it at 31 and depending therefrom. In a similar manner the section 18 is operated and secured in its notch by a hanger H, which is pivoted at 32 to the preceding hanger H. In lowering the doors to their closed position it is evident that the bottom one of this connected series of hang- It will be seen that my improved door is automatically locked by its hinges in its raised position without any independent act of the person operating it, so that it cannot be caused to fall out of place by jarring of the car and that accidental displacement of the hangers is rendered, practically impossible by the coacting projection and door depression. The sections can be successively operated independently of their companions, and a section broken in use can be taken out, when one above it will drop in its place, saving the annoyance of temporarily nailing on boards. Moreover, this door is flush with the inside of the car, and its position within the metal frame renders itimpossible for persons to nail the section in place, a practice which causes railroads much trouble.

It will be apparent that the doorsections are interchangeable, inasmuch as one section may take the place of the other in the case of accident-as, for instance, when one of the sections becomes broken or needs repairs necessitating its removal. Another feature to which attention is particularly directed is that while the upper door-section is capable of sliding to take the place of the middle section when it'is removed said top section is intended to normally swing, but notto slide, except when it is necessary to take the place of one of the lower sections. The top section can be swung upward, and the sliding sections can be successively moved in a vertical plane, and after being independently swung in a plane parallel with the top section they will be engaged by the pendent catches above de scribed. When it is desired to release the door-sections, the desired result canbe accomplished by disengaging all of the catches, which will permit the several sections to simultaneously drop. It will also be observed that when the several sections are in their closed position the opening in the car will be entirely closed, thus dispensing with the necessity of an outer door, which is essential in connection with the grain-door now generally employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a door-frame, of guides located in proximity to the frame and each provided with an outwardly-projecting flange having notches,ofadoor, and a hooked hanger carried by the door and overlapping the flange,and seatable in the notches thereof.

2. The combination with a door-frame of guides located in proximity to the frame and each provided with an outwardly-projecting flange having edge notches, of a door, a hook engaging the notches in the flange, and a connection between the door and the hook in which said hook is loosely mounted for thepurpose set forth.

3. The combination with a door-frame of a guide carried by the frame, a stop-flange on the guide, a notched flange at a right angle to the stop-flange,a door,and a hanger connected to the door and engaging the notched flange.

4. The combination with a car, having an opening of vertical guides carried by the car, of separate door-sections, independent hangers hinged to each door-section and slidable on the guides, and means for engaging the guides to hold the hangers against movement so as to swing the door-sections in adjacent horizontal planes.

5. The combination with a car having an opening of vertical guides carried by the car, separate door-sections, separate hangers slidably mounted on the guides and hinged to the door-section, means for engaging the hangers with the guides to hold the hangers against movement to swing the door-section,and separate hangers suspended from the top of the car to engage the unattached edges of the several sections.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL MEEHAN.

Witnesses:

' R. M. JOHNSON, R. S. BOSLEY. 

